


This Magic Moment

by EchoSiriusRumme



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Anxious Tony Stark, Based off Scene from "The Sandlot", Drowning, First Kiss, Fluff, Get Together, High School AU, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Lifeguard Steve, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Is A Stupid Genius, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Younger Tony, lifeguard bucky, nerd tony, tony can't swim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25982518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoSiriusRumme/pseuds/EchoSiriusRumme
Summary: His gaze eventually wandered to the two that seemed to be on his mind constantly nowadays.Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, the 19 year old lifeguards and former co-captains of  the swim team that had stolen Tony’s heart a year ago.Desperate times come for desperate measures, and after wasting the whole summer pining away, Tony finally makes a move....anincrediblydumbass move.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 159





	This Magic Moment

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea sitting in my Drive for years, and I'm so excited to finally share it with y'all! A fun little piece based off of the pool scene from "The Sandlot", with a teensy bit of drama because it's Tony. Enjoy! ^-^

“This is it. Today will be the day I finally ask the lifeguards out.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes, splashing Tony in the back of the head, laughing at the outraged squawk it provoked. “You’ve said that all summer, and what happens? You chicken out, and end up moping around the shallow end.”

Before Tony could protest, Pepper cut in with, “Yeah, why haven’t you let us teach you to swim yet? You know we wouldn’t mind.”

Tony flicked at the water, peeking over at the lifeguards then back at his friends. “Because it’s embarrassing. I’m 17 years old and can’t swim? They’d think I’m pathetic.”

A warm feeling went through his chest when Rhodey immediately puffed up, saying, “If they did, then they wouldn’t deserve you anyways.” Pepper nodded too, and Tony smiled.

“Thanks guys. I know you know how Howard is, but that’s not something I’d want to bring up right away. And I’m sure they’d want to know why I’m just learning to swim now.”

Tony looked back at the lifeguards, blushing when he noticed that they were looking at him. Rhodey pushed at his shoulder at the reaction, and it devolved quickly into a splash fight from there, which Pepper firmly won after they accidentally splashed her. They went to do a few laps in the swim lanes, after Tony promised he’d be fine without them for a little while. “Go talk to them man,” Rhodey said, before swimming away to catch up to Pepper.

Tony chewed at his lip nervously, walking slowly through the water to reach the wall. Pulling himself up easily, he sat beside the pool, aimlessly moving his feet through the water as he watched Pepper and Rhodey cut through the water across the pool. Their form was amazing, and he knew they’d be great teachers since they were a part of the high school swim team. But he just couldn’t get over the fear that he’d be judged harshly by...others.

His gaze eventually wandered to the two that seemed to be on his mind constantly nowadays. Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, the 19 year old lifeguards and former co-captains of the swim team that had stolen Tony’s heart a year ago. As swimmers, they were in excellent shape, and Tony took a moment to bemoan the fact that he was surrounded by hot people, both friends and non alike. Meanwhile he normally wore thick rimmed glasses, was 5’5 to everyone else’s 5’9+, and was a complete engineering nerd.

Tony watched as Steve stretched his arms up, nearly whimpering as it accented his impressive pecs. Bucky was applying some more sunscreen to his scarred left arm, and Tony nearly lost himself in a daydream where _he_ was rubbing lotion onto Bucky’s amazing body, kissing each blemish to erase that insecure expression that sometimes crossed Bucky’s face. Physically shaking his head, Tony couldn’t fight the grin when he saw Bucky braiding his long hair so that it stayed out of the way.

Tony had first seen them when he went to a swim meet to cheer on his friends, and had been struck dumb by the blond and brunet Adonis’ that were also competing for their school. His friends being who they were, saw how he looked at them and immediately went to introduce him. Thankfully Tony had managed to stay cool, saving his freakout for when they were driving home.

In the few instances that their paths crossed, they were super friendly, recognizing him as Pepper and Rhodey’s friend from the meets. Between those interactions and the stories that Pepper and Rhodey told him about them, Tony fell and fell hard.

But despite his confident persona that Howard had hammered into him from birth, Tony actually had anxiety, and asking out one hot boy was already nerve-wracking, but two? Especially when they were already a couple? He definitely wasn’t brave enough for that, so for now he’d just look.

He sat up straight, noticing a redhead talking to his- _the_ boys. Even though he could kind of recognize her as another one of their teammates, a surge of jealousy went through him when they laughed at whatever she said. He watched as they chatted away, their body language relaxed and their smiles _so_ wide and bright. Then she tugged playfully on Bucky’s braid and he felt a sudden urge to get their attention.

Scrambling to his feet, Tony wracked his brain, casting his gaze across the pool. It landed on the diving boards across from where they were standing, and he was walking towards them in an instant. There were three of various heights, and he went for the middle one, making it to the edge of the board before a trickle of doubt managed to cut through his mind. Then he peeked over at Steve and Bucky again, and his eyes widened when he saw Bucky had his arm around Natasha’s shoulder.

He looked down at the water, bounced once, twice, and then felt his _soul leave his goddamn body_ when a shout cut through the air. “ _Tony!_ Tony, n-!” The rest of Rhodey’s shout was lost in the splash as Tony toppled into the deep end. In his shock, he hadn’t been able to get a deep breath beforehand and he _stupidly_ inhaled to get a quick breath.

Choking immediately, Tony started to panic, sinking further in the 10 feet deep water. The chlorine burned his eyes as he tried desperately to reach the surface again. His body was getting heavier and heavier though, and he was starting to feel lightheaded from the lack of oxygen.

Tony heard a weird sound, sluggishly bringing his head up to see a figure diving down towards him. Arms slid under his own, the brush of hair on his neck making him realize Bucky had him, before everything went dark.

*** * * * ***

Steve looked into the water, watching as Bucky grabbed Tony from the bottom of the pool, only breathing again once their heads broke the water. His heart sank though as he took in Tony’s slack face, the way his head lolled over Bucky’s shoulder. He quickly knelt down when Bucky reached the edge to help bring Tony out of the water.

Steve laid him flat, placing his hand in front of Tony’s nose, keeping an eye on his chest. As Bucky joined him on Tony’s other side, Steve said, “He’s not breathing.” Bucky’s jaw clenched, and then he got to work, tilting Tony’s head and starting CPR and rescue breaths.

Steve heard running footsteps and looked up to see Rhodey and Pepper push past the small crowd that had gathered. “Steve, is he OK?” Rhodey asked quickly, coming to stand beside him.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, we got to him real quick thanks to you,” Steve said, trying to calm his teammates down.

Rhodey looked both relieved and guilty, saying, “Thanks to JROTC, you mean. But he may not have gone through with it if I hadn’t scared him and made him fall off.”

“Gone through with what? Is everything OK with Tony?” Steve looked between Rhodey and Pepper as they shared a look.

Pepper sighed but before she could say anything, coughing sounded from beside him. Steve jerked his head around to see Tony’s eyes pop open and then he was sitting up quickly, nearly knocking heads with Bucky. The movement caused him to cough up some pool water, and Bucky rubbed his back gently. “You’re OK, take it easy.”

Tony looked at Bucky, then at the group around him, confusion written into his expression. “What,” he cut off, coughing into his elbow a couple times. Wincing at how rough his throat must be, he continued, “What happened?”

Steve was jostled to the side as Rhodey shot forward, yelling, “You are the stupidest genius I have ever met, what the hell were you thinking?” He gently pulled Tony to his feet, then enveloped him in a hug. “You know you can’t swim, what were you doing up there?”

Steve watched curiously as Tony’s cheeks turned a deep red, the flush continuing up into his ears. Then those warm, brown eyes darted between him and Bucky, embarrassment shining within them, and Steve’s heart jumped. Catching Bucky’s eyes, he cleared his throat. “Let’s go somewhere a little more private. You got him Rhodes?”

Rhodey nodded, keeping an arm around Tony’s waist as they walked towards the swim center’s office. Steve bit back a grin as Pepper tugged on Tony’s ear, complaining about how dumb that stunt was and boy, was he going to get it later. He walked in first, nodding at Sam, their friend and fellow lifeguard, asking, “Can we have the room? We’ll be quick, and switch back right after.”

Steve waited for Sam to leave and Bucky to close the door, before turning back towards Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper. “So, mind cluing us in? Got our hearts pumping fast, and not in a fun way.” To Steve’s delight, Tony blushed again, looking down at his fiddling hands.

There was a moment of silence, then Rhodey placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Just tell them, man. It’ll be fine.”

Tony’s eyes remained on his hands, and he whispered after a second, “Can you and Pep give us a moment?”

Rhodey smiled, patting him one more time. “Sure.”

Steve looked at Bucky and shrugged at the confused expression on his boyfriend’s face. He looked back at Tony expectantly, a shot of concern going through him at the way Tony was biting his lip nervously. When another minute went by in suspense, Steve said softly, “Hey. Whatever it is, you can te-”

“I like you guys, OK?” Tony’s head shot up, Steve frozen in place by the determination in the brown eyes. “From the moment I saw you guys, I’ve had a crush on you. I told myself I had no chance because - well, just look at you! What would you two see in me?”

Steve saw Bucky move forward in the corner of his eye, but Tony wasn’t finished. “But you sure haven’t made it easy for me to get over my crush. Being so funny and smart, and so fucking nice even though I’m just your teammate’s awkward friend, like what the hell? Who’s like that?” Tony’s chest heaved a little from his outburst, and Steve couldn’t do anything but stare.

Thankfully Bucky had always been better at talking. “And what did today have to do with all that?”

Tony seemed thrown for a moment, as if he expected them to be outraged at the fact he had a crush on them. _‘Well apparently we’ve all been pining idiots,’_ Steve thought, slightly dazed by that revelation.

“I - um.” Tony sighed, saying rapidly, “I was trying to get your attention and had the stupid idea to jump in and have you save me. Which I guess you did, but I _definitely_ didn’t intend on actually drowning, I was just going to splash around a little. But yeah, it was still an _incredibly stupid_ idea, Pepper is going to yell my ear off later.

“Anyways, you don’t have to say anything. I know you’re already a couple and I don’t want to cause problems, so I’ll just leave you guys alone from now on.” Tony started walking towards the door, but Steve wasn’t going to let him go that easily.

Catching his arm gently, Steve pulled him close, looking down at Tony’s shocked expression. “And what if we’ve been carrying a torch for you too? What would you say if we were smitten by this cute brunet our friends introduced to us from the first moment?”

Bucky came up behind Tony, adding, “And that crush just grew as we learned more about him. Learning he was smart as a whip and so passionate about his work, that he had a huge heart...and a phenomenal ass, honestly.”

Steve tsked while Tony looked down at his feet again, a choked laugh escaping his lips. He placed one hand on Tony’s hip too, using the other to tilt Tony’s face back up. He smiled softly at the hope glimmering in Tony’s eyes. “We would _love_ to be your boyfriends, Tony. I guess we all should have said something sooner, but we’re here now.”

Tony huffed, leaning closer into Steve’s side which sent a thrill through him and Bucky to roll his eyes at the sappy smile on his face. “Well as you can see, there won’t be a shortage of drama with me.” He paused, then added with a rueful smile, “And not exactly what I pictured as my first kiss, but I’ll take it.”

Bucky immediately scoffed. “Nah doll, that wasn’t a kiss. _This_ is a kiss,” he said, gently turning Tony’s face towards him and leaning down to touch his lips to Tony’s. He nibbled softly at Tony’s bottom lip, _loving_ the way Tony moved towards him, chasing his mouth until Bucky kissed him again.

When Bucky leaned back, Steve watched Tony’s eyes flutter back open, seemingly dazed. Then Tony looked shyly back at Steve, and he was more than willing to give him what he wanted. Those full lips felt even better than he imagined, and Steve cupped Tony’s jaw, brushing his thumb along the corner of his mouth until he opened it with a sigh. Steve licked into his mouth, along the roof of Tony’s mouth and eliciting a shiver from the younger brunet.

Breaking apart with a soft gasp from Tony, Steve grinned. “So? Was that convincing enough for you?”

“And it won’t be me and Steve, and then you, doll. We’d all be in this relationship together,” Bucky added, smoothing a hand down Tony’s back. “You won’t be getting between us.” A wicked grin crossed Bucky’s face. “Well, unless you want to.”

“Bucky!” Steve scolded, feeling his cheeks heat. Thankfully Tony just laughed, the tips of his ears red as he leaned against Steve, patting Bucky’s hand where it was back on his hip.

“Yeah, I’d love to be your boyfriend.” Tony looked up at Steve and Bucky, accepting another kiss from each of them. Bucky whooped, hugging him from behind, and Tony hid his gleeful smile in Steve’s chest, loving the way it felt being held by the both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed this! <333


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